With the end of federal stimulus funding for higher education on the horizon, states are considering proposals to retool current funding formulas for colleges and universities and looking to alternative funding sources to sustain their programs and services in the coming years. Ahead of the 2011 legislative session, groups commissioned by governors in Colorado and Virginia recommended a voter-approved tax and more stable funding streams from the state, respectively.

Sacramento's Green Capital Alliance reports that the six-county region is now home to 13,000 clean technology jobs and 98 clean energy companies. In a five-year progress report on Sacramento's clean energy cluster roadmap, the group document's Sacramento's rise as one of the country's key hubs for clean energy technology development. The report provides a detailed look at the alliance's efforts to leverage regional partners over the past few years and its immediate plans to expand the region's data gathering and smart grid infrastructure.

TBED People
Walter Bumphus has been named the next president and CEO of the American Association of Community Colleges. Bumphus currently serves as a professor in the Community College Leadership Program and chair of the Educational Administration Department at the University of Texas at Austin. Bumphus will begin his tenure with AACC in January.

TBED People
Anne Barth has been named the executive director of TechConnect West Virginia.

Joann Rockwell MacMaster has been appointed site director for the Arizona Center for Innovation at the UA Tech Park.

Catherine Renault resigned from her position as director of the Maine Office of Innovation effective December 3.

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2), Community Innovation Services, is seeking a group manager for research. The EI2 Community Innovation Services team supports communities with economic and community development research, analysis and planning. Projects range from strategic planning to workforce analysis, from fiscal impact analysis of new or expanding firms to sustainable development strategies for communities of all sizes.

A $25 million fund providing grants for tech commercialization, matching funds for research, and funding to attract "star" researchers to Virginia's universities is a key component of Gov. Bob McDonnell's $54 million Opportunity at Work agenda presented to lawmakers as part of his amendments to the 2010-12 budget. The governor's budget also includes $5 million for a refundable R&D tax credit and an extra $50 million for higher education directed toward increasing college access and economic development opportunities.

The second installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, New Hampshire, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. Our first installment was in the Jan. 5 Digest.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich named James Leftwich as the director of the Ohio Department of Development, effective March 25. Leftwich has worked at the Dayton Development Coalition for six years, including three years as president and CEO. Leftwich will take the post previously held by Mark Kvamme, a California venture capitalist named the state's development director in January. Kvamme was appointed director of Job Creation within the governor's office, effective immediately.

Lawmakers approved many of Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposals aimed at growing Virginia's technology and life sciences industries by dedicating about half of the funding requested by the governor to support R&D, commercialization, SBIR matching grants, and funding for early stage equity investments.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell dropped his previous nomination, Robert Sledd, as his secretary for Commerce and Trade and instead nominated businessman James Cheng. Cheng, whose nomination needs to be confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, was sworn in on January 17.

The National Science Foundation is seeking a Senior Analyst in its Science & Engineering Indicators Program, Division of Science Resources Statistics’ (SRS) Directorate for Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arlington, VA. The appointment is under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) for a two-year renewable period

The second installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs’ series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Colorado, Virginia and West Virginia. Our first installment was in the Jan 13 Digest.

Entering its tenth year covering governors’ State of the State, Budget and Inaugural Addresses, SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in the following states:

Arizona
Gov. Janice Brewer, State of the State Address, Jan. 11, 2010

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation has approved what is being called the region's first consensus strategic plan for economic development. The plan includes support for local research and commercialization activities, sector-based worker training and placement programs and provides assistance to entrepreneurs. Read more at: http://www.lacountystrategicplan.com.

Arden Bement, head of the National Science Foundation since his appointment as acting director in early 2004 and permanent director in November of that year, will become director of the new Global Policy Research Institute at Purdue University, effective June 1. Bement served as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology from 2001 to 2004.

NSF directorships are Presidential appointments with six-year terms. Bement's term would have expired in November, 2010. The White House has yet to name Bement's successor.

Nearly all components of a comprehensive legislative package set forth by Gov. Bob McDonnell that would provide tax credits for green jobs, invest in renewable energy R&D, and support the biotechnology and life sciences industries have passed at least one chamber in the legislature at this point. The governor also introduced amendments to the 2010-12 budget proposed by former Gov. Tim Kaine that would provide an additional $50 million for economic development initiatives.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the selection of 10 regional economic development and job creation efforts through a new pilot program, Innovative Economies, that supports small business participation in regional economic clusters. SBA's funding is designed to expand the opportunities and the role small businesses play in these regional collaborations. The awardees were selected from among 173 applicants. Awards went to organizations in: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio and South Carolina.

A recent report from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) National Science Board calls for a new NSF research agenda to identify and develop the next generation of STEM innovators. The board developed a STEM agenda built on findings from a two-year study on math, science and engineering education in the U.S. The report, entitled "Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators," provides recommendations that are intended to help set funding priorities at NSF for STEM education in the coming years.

California's next governor will inherit a dire budget situation and an unemployment rate that is above the national average. While the two main candidates vying for the job offer different visions for enhancing California's economy, both plans set forth policies and incentives to encourage renewable energy development and deployment and provide resources to support entrepreneurs. Jerry Brown (D) has a clean energy jobs plan that he says will produce half a million jobs in research, development, manufacturing, construction, installation, and maintenance over the next decade.

California

Armed with professional advice from mentors in scientific fields and free access to sophisticated design and engineering software, teachers and students from Hawaii, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Vermont and Virginia will participate in a national competition to solve a real-world engineering challenge defined by the aviation industry.
 

The outcome of Tuesday's election resulted in several wins and some defeats for TBED among the more than 150 ballot measures presented to voters across the nation. Outlined below are the unofficial election results of select ballot measures from each state's respective election office and local media reports as of Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Oregon